


Constructing Wings To Fly

by Reddwarfer



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, Coming Out, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Getting Together, Happy Ending, M/M, Running Away, Trans John Sheppard, Trans Male Character, Trans Rodney McKay, Transitioning, transphobic parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25588087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reddwarfer/pseuds/Reddwarfer
Summary: John never expected a disastrous job interview to be one of the best things to happen to him.
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	Constructing Wings To Fly

**Author's Note:**

> High school-ish AU but more like it occurs in the canonverse if Rodney and John were both trans and met 17 years earlier. Inside/Out is a real place in Colorado Springs dedicated to helping youth transition, amongst other things.
> 
> Notes: Originally Written 6/26/2010  
> for kyuuketsukirui on his birthday!~ I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Trigger Warning: John almost deadnames himself when introducing himself. The story itself deals references various experiences with transphobia but focuses on forging a positive path forward and trying to surround oneself with people who accept you.

John runs away to Colorado Springs in a fit of pique when he's seventeen. His father pointedly spends over a thousand dollars on a fall wardrobe with the most obscenely pink and pastel dresses, skirts, and blouses for his senior year of high school. He can remember the expression on his father's face, daring John to say anything about the clothes while he clenches the recruitment pamphlets from the Air Force in his hand.

His father doesn't want him in the Air Force, but he wants John to be a man even less. It was the hardest decision John ever made. He had known he wanted to fly as long as he had known he was a boy. John thinks he'll defy everyone. If the Air Force doesn't want John as John, then he'll go to college and _design_ his own planes, and fuck anyone that tells him no.

No matter what his father wants and what his mother says, nothing can change John's mind. He sneaks into Dave's room, says goodbye to his brother's sleeping form, and takes off to be as close to the Air Force as he can get. His dad may not want what John wants, but his father can't do anything about it or the trust fund his grandfather left to him. John gets a thrill every time he uses Sheppard family money to buy things for his transition.

John finds the Inside/Out Youth Services by accident after a job interview at the Colorado Springs Independent Newspaper. The interview may have been an unqualified disaster—he can't pass yet, and he doesn't even know how to go about dealing with the paperwork—but Inside/Out is a godsend.

The center has answers to every question he has and to those he never thought to ask. John finds himself in the midst of people who get him, who understand. It's a million miles away from getting suspended for "crossdressing" in his own high school. He may never fly the best planes, but he's getting closer to being at peace in his own skin and that's even better.

John still hasn't found a job and he lives out of a local motel, but this feels more like home than any of the Sheppard estates ever did.

Two weeks later, he finds himself sitting next to a tall blond with blue eyes and lopsided grin in the youth room. "Hi, I'm Rodney. I've not seen you around here before. You new?" Rodney asks.

"Yeah, I'm C—John." Embarrassment floods him, but as much as he thinks of himself as John in his own head, he hasn't much practice saying it out loud, asking others to do the same.

"Don't," Rodney says, as if reading his mind. "It took me a while, too. I'm still working on," his hands flutter awkwardly at his face, "yanno, the voice. And everything else."

John relaxes. He has questions, but doesn't really know what's appropriate to ask. "You from here?" He winces at the lame question, but Rodney is a good looking guy and his body wants him to flirt even if he hasn't a clue how.

"No, not originally. I'm Canadian, actually, Vancouver specifically. I'm here for...well, let's just say I'm a genius and I'm working with some people and I demanded a few concessions in my contract and help with this," Rodney waves his hand up and down the length of his body, "is the main one."

"Cool," John says, because what else can he say? Rodney's spiel sounds too entirely strange for it to be an outright lie.

"It is," Rodney says, nodding, "very cool. What are you here for?"

"I wanted," and this causes John to choke up a little, because he may have made his choice, but it still _hurts_ that he had to choose at all. "I wanted to fly for the Air Force, but...So, I want to finish high school, get into college and make planes instead. There are a lot of aviation schools here, too. I'm going to fly," John adds defiantly. No, he's not going to let anyone take this dream from him."I'm going to fly, damn it."

Rodney stares at him for a moment before he grins widely at him. "Yeah, I bet you will. I'm going to get a Nobel one day. Astrophysics. I'm working on my Masters in that and in Engineering."

"Masters?" John asks in surprise. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen," Rodney answers dismissively. "I told you I was a genius. I'd probably be on my doctorates by now if it weren't for the absolute hacks they have in the field."

John can only nod as Rodney whirls into a vicious diatribe about how everyone at his college is an absolute moron, but he has to have the paperwork to back up his genius if he wants to get anywhere.

After that, they meet daily for coffee, chitchat, and John's horrendously bad attempts at flirting with a most oblivious Rodney.

"You know," Rodney says airily during one of their coffee meet-ups (dates, John's brain thinks insistently). "I'm looking for a roommate."

"Yeah?" John says, and tries not to feel so excited. "What sort of roommate are you looking for?"

"Smart, clean, annoyingly attractive hair, dorky smile, and an unfortunate affection for bad sci-fi comedies," Rodney answers, blushing cutely despite the attempt at cool indifference.

"I may know someone," John answers. He's wanted out of the hotel for weeks, but didn't feel up to searching for apartments and all the inevitable awkwardness that comes with it.

Rodney gives him a look of sharp relief and happiness. "Good."

Living with Rodney is even better than simply not living at home. He still doesn't really know what Rodney does when he's not in school, but he knows it involves the Mountain and the government and that Rodney wants John to get a doctorate and join him someday. Rodney's schedule is erratic and John's busy with school things, volunteering at Inside/Out, and practicing for their annual golf tournament. But, at the end of the day, they spread out together on the couch and talk. John thinks he's talked more to Rodney in a month than he has to anyone in his entire life, including shrinks.

They take turns bitching about idiot people they meet, compare their various T-meds and resulting side effects, make fun of old Star Trek episodes, and argue over who was the best Doctor. They have ridiculous blow ups over the strangest things, like the best way to pack (which is forever dubbed the Cock Sock vs Mr Right Cage Match in his head) and which sport is best (American Football because Hockey is boring). Rodney tells him about his parents (assholes), his sister (confused, but maybe some day) and how he built a working model of an atomic bomb in his garage after it was suggested he take up home economics. John tells him about his parents (also assholes), his brother (confused, but probably never) and how he got suspended for a week after yelling that he wasn't the only one without balls when the gym teacher refused to let him try out for the football team.

It's months later, after John's insignificant crush—which turns significant and not so crush like without permission and when he wasn't looking—starts that he finally does something about it.

"Prom?" Rodney asks, mouth quirking in a funny little frown. "You want me to go with you to Prom?"

"Yes," John says, doing his best not to fidget. "So..."

"Like as a date?" Rodney stares at him as if this is strangest thing he's heard in his whole life. "You want to go on a date with me?"

"Um." John palms the back of his neck. When Inside/Out started posting about Gay Prom, it seemed like a good opportunity to enlighten Rodney. Now, he feels like a bit of a moron. "Yeah?"

"Okay?" Rodney answers just as hesitatingly as John. "You know we're living together?"

John nods. "Couldn't miss it what with me having to pick your dirty socks off the floor."

"At any point, you could have, yanno, crawled in my bed, said, you wanna make out, and I'd have kissed you before you had the chance to finish your sentence."

John really doesn't want to think about all the sex he could have been having and how annoyed he should be at Rodney who totally wasn't sending him any signals that anyone with a barely functioning gaydar could have picked up, so he says the only thing he can. "Cool."

This time, Rodney does kiss him before he can say anything else and he amends that to _very cool_.


End file.
